Preliminary Task Reflection

After planning, shooting and producing our film "Traced", here are my reflections on the piece as a whole:

Shots: We a number of different shots within our film to portray our genre of a Psychological Thriller  I believe that the way that we used the rough, jerky camera movements was very effective in portraying our genre. We also used these shots:
  • Tracking shots: The tracking shots used in the opening of the clip gave the impression that BAZ was being followed. This not only makes the audience feel uncomfortable, but this also creates an enigma, as you do not know who she is or why she is being followed.
  • Point of view shots: the point of view shots used added to the enigma, as the audience are seeing the scene from the characters point of view, but do not know her identity.
  • Close ups: The close ups added to the enigma that we were trying to create, as only small aspects of the scene were revealed to the audience.
Sound: 
We decided to use some non-diagetic music in our clip in order to create a eery mood for the audience, and to build up the tension that the audience is feeling. We used an instrumental version of the song "Newborn" by Muse. We chose this song as we wanted a song that is quite haunting, yet still beautiful and interesting to listen to. Our diagetic sound also fits in with the theme, as it makes the scene seem more realistic, and so more unnerving for the audience.

Editing:
We decided to use a fade in between the real life sequence and dream sequence, as this is a very stereotypical way of distinguishing between the two. This meant that the audience automatically knew that the two were different. We also edited the clips of the dream sequence so that they were blurred around the perimeter of the frame, which also added to the dream-like feel. To distinguish between the past and present within the dream sequence, we decided that we wanted either a black and white effect, or a sepia tone, as these are stereotypical features to distinguish between the two.

Mise en Scene: 
Mise en Scene is everything included in the shot. This includes:
  • Props
  • Setting
  • Location
  • Lighting
  • Costume, hair and makeup.
  • Facial expression/body language
  • Colour

As many of our shots are close-ups, most of the frame is taken up by these, however, there are a few elements that help towards the Mise en scene of the piece. The elements we selected to include in our frames were very cliche, as we wanted the audience to concentrate more on the plot of the story, rather than the minor details. These are:

  • The cliche outfit of the receptionist (smart blazer, glasses etc.) The audience will therefore automatically recognise her as being a receptionist.
  • The cliche setup of a typical office (Desk, chairs, laptop, telephone, coffee mug etc.) The audience with therefore recognise the setting as being an office.
  • Our main prop was the parcel we were provided the task of including in our clip. Our parcel was surrounded in, and created part of the enigma, but also acted as a McGuffin, as it moved the plot along. 
  • As many of the shots are close-ups, the body language, and especially the facial expressions are very clear and key to the acting, which also portrays the genre.
  • The colour we used in the film was all very dull, and not bright or lively at all. This added to the feel and portrayal of the genre, as it gives the film a dreamy feel.

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